Families residing in Washington State may be eligible for child care subsidy to help pay for child care. Child care subsidies help pay for child care while the parent, or parents in a two-parent household, participate in an approved activity.
A family qualifies if the household income is at or below 60% of the state Median Income (SMI) at application or 65% of SMI when reapplying. For a family of two, that is $3,641 per month, a family of three $4,498, and a family of four $5,354.
Approved activities include:
- Employment or self-employment
- Education activities, including:
- High school or high school equivalency programs for parents ages 21 and younger
- Attending community, technical, or tribal college full-time and seeking an associate or vocational degree
- Attending community, technical, or tribal college part-time and seeking an associate or vocational degree and working 20 hours per week
- Activities approved under the parents’ WorkFirst or BFET plan
Families must have resources under $1 million. The child(ren) must be younger than 13 years old or younger than 19 years with special needs, a U.S. citizen, legal resident, or otherwise eligible for federal benefits to be eligible.
Families experiencing homelessness or having received child protective or child welfare services in the six months previous to an application may be eligible with less restrictions than listed above.
Is there a copayment?
In most cases, families will have a copayment based on their income and family size. The copayment is the family’s portion of child care that is paid by the family to their provider monthly. See the chart located here for copayment amounts: https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/copay_calculation_table.pdf
Want to find out if you qualify?
Contact us today at 1-800-446-1114. Applications are processed on average within 10 days.